Sanctuary Advisors LLC Purchases 3,261 Shares of Ciena Corporation $CIEN

Sanctuary Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of Ciena Corporation (NYSE:CIEN) by 65.1% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 8,271 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 3,261 shares during the quarter. Sanctuary Advisors LLC’s holdings in Ciena were worth $1,934,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Lecap Asset Management Ltd. purchased a new position in Ciena during the 3rd quarter valued at $1,993,000. KBC Group NV increased its position in Ciena by 11.3% during the 4th quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 31,161 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock valued at $7,288,000 after purchasing an additional 3,156 shares during the period. Convergence Investment Partners LLC purchased a new position in Ciena during the 3rd quarter valued at $1,726,000. Peak Financial Advisors LLC increased its position in Ciena by 222.7% during the 4th quarter. Peak Financial Advisors LLC now owns 11,596 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock valued at $2,712,000 after purchasing an additional 8,003 shares during the period. Finally, Semanteon Capital Management LP purchased a new position in Ciena during the 3rd quarter valued at $568,000. 91.99% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at Ciena

In other news, CEO Gary B. Smith sold 2,952 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, April 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $415.51, for a total value of $1,226,585.52. Following the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 281,365 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $116,909,971.15. This represents a 1.04% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, SVP Jason Phipps sold 22,014 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, April 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $409.80, for a total transaction of $9,021,337.20. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president directly owned 68 shares in the company, valued at $27,866.40. This represents a 99.69% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders have sold 40,022 shares of company stock valued at $15,831,454 in the last three months. 0.58% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

More Ciena News

Here are the key news stories impacting Ciena this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Analyst/industry bullishness: Seeking Alpha highlights a surging backlog (now ~$7B) and accelerating backlog-to-cash conversion that supports revenue and cash-flow growth, arguing CIEN is well positioned for hyperscaler AI demand. Ciena Corp.: Buy As Backlog To Cash Is Rolling
• Positive Sentiment: Sector buy call: Zacks includes CIEN among communication-component stocks to tap the rally from 5G, fiber and AI tailwinds, reinforcing investor interest in the group. Buy 2 Communication Component Stocks to Tap Recent Rally
• Positive Sentiment: Brokerage sentiment and momentum: Broker consensus is around “Moderate Buy” and the stock recently hit a record high on the NYSE Composite, signaling strong market momentum and institutional interest. Ciena Given Average Recommendation of “Moderate Buy” Ciena Hits Record High
• Neutral Sentiment: Peer/company-news signal: Coverage of Lumentum’s upcoming Q3 frames broad industry demand for optics and AI-driven revenue growth — a positive sector signal for Ciena but not direct company news. Lumentum Q3 Earnings Loom
• Neutral Sentiment: ETF/flow context: Mentions of CIEN in mid-cap/smart-beta ETF coverage may support passive demand but are a secondary factor vs. direct earnings/backlog news. Is FNX a Strong ETF Right Now?
• Negative Sentiment: Celebrity pundit caution: Jim Cramer publicly said CIEN is “a little too hot” and that he’d “hold off,” which can sap conviction among retail traders and short-term momentum despite strong fundamentals. Jim Cramer on Ciena Jim Cramer on Ciena: “I’m Going to Have to Hold Off”

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts have issued reports on CIEN shares. Morgan Stanley boosted their price objective on shares of Ciena from $286.00 to $405.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday, April 20th. Rothschild & Co Redburn started coverage on shares of Ciena in a research report on Friday. They set a “neutral” rating and a $416.00 price objective on the stock. Barclays boosted their price objective on shares of Ciena from $279.00 to $372.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, March 6th. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their price objective on shares of Ciena from $320.00 to $430.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, March 23rd. Finally, Needham & Company LLC boosted their price objective on shares of Ciena from $280.00 to $370.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, March 5th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirteen have assigned a Buy rating and six have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Ciena presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $358.94.

Ciena Stock Up 0.2%

NYSE:CIEN opened at $536.28 on Monday. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $414.44 and its 200-day moving average price is $291.20. The company has a market capitalization of $75.83 billion, a PE ratio of 341.58, a P/E/G ratio of 1.76 and a beta of 1.24. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.55, a current ratio of 2.81 and a quick ratio of 2.14. Ciena Corporation has a 1-year low of $70.67 and a 1-year high of $550.00.

Ciena (NYSE:CIEN) last released its earnings results on Thursday, March 5th. The communications equipment provider reported $1.35 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.17 by $0.18. The firm had revenue of $1.43 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.40 billion. Ciena had a net margin of 4.47% and a return on equity of 12.09%. The company’s revenue was up 33.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $0.64 EPS. On average, equities analysts predict that Ciena Corporation will post 5.1 EPS for the current fiscal year.

About Ciena

Ciena Corporation (NYSE: CIEN) is a global supplier of telecommunications networking equipment, software and services. The company develops high-capacity optical transport systems and packet-optical platforms that enable service providers, cloud operators and large enterprises to build, manage and scale their networks. Ciena’s product portfolio includes coherent optical solutions, packet networking platforms and a suite of network automation software designed to optimize bandwidth, reduce latency and simplify network operations.

In addition to hardware offerings, Ciena provides professional services and support, including network design, implementation and ongoing maintenance.